FARAI CHIDEYA, host:
This is NEWS & NOTES. I'm Farai Chideya.
It's been reported that Senator John Edwards has dropped out of the race for the presidency. To read the tea leaves, we've got Donna Brazile. She is a nationally syndicated columnist who also teaches at Georgetown University. Plus, Robert Traynham, D.C. bureau chief for the Comcast cable network CN8.
Hi, folks.
Mr. ROBERT TRAYNHAM (Washington Bureau Chief, CN8): Hi, Farai.
Professor DONNA BRAZILE (Columnist; Adjunct Professor, Georgetown University): Hello. How you doing?
CHIDEYA: I'm doing great. Man, there's a lot popping off right here.
Prof. BRAZILE: I know. What a wonderful day in American politics.
CHIDEYA: I can't say that, you know, it's just - there's, you know, this is the moment when things seem to crystallize. So let me batter up on this one. Last week, I interviewed John Edwards on the show. He had this to say about his campaign.
(Soundbite of archived interview)
Mr. JOHN EDWARDS (Former Democratic Senator, North Carolina): Oh, I'm in this for the long haul.
CHIDEYA: Are you running out of money?
Mr. EDWARDS: No. Well, actually, here is the amazing thing that's happened. In the last - since 1st of January, we've raised record amounts on - online, on the Internet and as a result, we have - the money won't be the issue. We have plenty of money.
CHIDEYA: Donna, was that a lie, a fib, desperate hope? What was going on in our conversation?
Prof. BRAZILE: Well, John Edwards did manage to raise about $3 million over the last couple of weeks but the truth is he couldn't break out. He could not break out of the strategic position he was being placed in as coming in third place in every race since the Iowa caucuses. He was falling behind in the national polls, following behind in state-wide polls and it's very difficult to keep your campaign going when you're not accruing delegates, when you're not able to raise the money. And while John Edwards was someone who inspired a lot of people to talk about health care, the economy, global warming, the truth is, is that without resources, without momentum, without winning, it's tough to keep a campaign going down the trail.
CHIDEYA: Robert, do you expect that there will be an endorsement that comes out of the Edwards campaign? If so, for whom?
Mr. TRAYNHAM: Yes. I do expect an endorsement. Probably, it will not happen anytime soon, though. I did speak with the Edwards campaign earlier this morning and they have stressed to me and others, obviously, that Senator Edwards feels very strongly about running for president.
He spoke with Senators Clinton and Obama last night and said that I am dropping out of this race. However, the fight continues. I need you a pledge to be -this is John Edwards speaking here - that you will continue to talk about poverty, that you will continue to talk about the working middle class, that you'll continue to talk about those who are living from paycheck to paycheck. He recognizes that he is still relevant in this campaign although he is stepping out, Farai, so he probably will hold his fire if you will and wait until after Super Tuesday to see if, in fact, who, if anyone, emerges as the front-runner on the Democratic side and then he will probably make an announcement then.
CHIDEYA: Donna, it takes a strong woman or man to sit in the driver's seat. It also sometimes takes a strong person to sit in the passenger side and read the math. So do you think that John Edwards could come back as a second-time veep(ph) candidate?
Prof. BRAZILE: Oh, no question. I think John Edwards would make a wonderful VP candidate again if he decides to get back in the political fray. Look, John Edwards, I believe, contributed greatly to this national dialogue whether it was making poverty an issue in his campaign. That was decided to not only launch his campaign in the great city of New Orleans. His - even in his campaigns and following his remarks on (unintelligible) intends to go and help rebuild some homes in the historical Ninth Ward.
So John Edwards was a champion for the middle class, he was the champion for the poor, and any serious, you know, Democratic nominee would want to give John Edwards consideration on a short, short list.
Prof. BRAZILE: (Unintelligible)
Mr. TRAYNHAM: Farai, can I speak to that for a second?
CHIDEYA: Please do.
Mr. TRAYNHAM: You know, Senator Edwards, unfortunately, has - is experiencing the glass-ceiling syndrome where, candidly speaking, that you have Senators Obama and Clinton kind of having all of the spotlight, if you will. In fact, I recall Senator Edwards routinely raising his hand on the debates and say, look, I'm here, I'm relevant. Please listen to me, which could be very interesting on the next couple of weeks is where Senator Edwards' votes go. Do they go to Senator Obama or do they go to Senator Clinton?
Senator Edwards tried the class warfare message, if you will, as what Donna and I have spoke about a few moments ago about champion for the working class. And for whatever reason, although it's resonating with a certain segment of the population, it didn't break that glass ceiling so that he can go to the next level. And he recognized that so it would be very interesting to see if, in fact, Senators Obama or Clinton pick up on that message and also just as importantly, where do those votes go now that he's dropping out.
Prof. BRAZILE:
CHIDEYA: Robert, I wanted to - go ahead, Donna.
Prof. BRAZILE: A champion of the middle class, on strengthening the economy, on campaigning hard against the corporate interest that dominate Washington, D.C., put in profits before the needs of regular Americans.
I think looking ahead, you know, beyond Super Tuesday, where John Edwards might decide to endorse someone, it's clear that with the strong support that he has among labor, organized labor, the (unintelligible) union, the steel workers' union, those unions will play a very important role and Robert knows this in Pennsylvania and Ohio and other states said will still perhaps be decisive and determine who the nominee is on the Democratic side.
But I want to salute John Edwards for, you know, starting this campaign into the campaign in New Orleans and making poverty one of his central pillars of his race.
CHIDEYA: Robert, let's move on to the Republicans. Rudy Giuliani, who could he throw his support behind?
Mr. TRAYNHAM: Mayor Giuliani has said that if he was not running for president, he would cheerfully campaign for John McCain. Philosophically speaking, they are on the same page on a lot of issues. They're both personal friends and it looks like senator or, excuse me, Senator McCain is going to enjoy the benefits of Rudy Giuliani getting out of the race and it looks like Mayor Giuliani probably will endorse Senator McCain, if not later on today, he's probably going to later on in the week.
CHIDEYA: Now, Donna, how did you parse out the maneuvering on the Republican side? They have seen, you know, Senator Thompson drop out and Mitt Romney - break it down for me this way. Mike Huckabee has been seen as the social conservative. Mitt Romney has been seen by some people, but not all people, as the fiscal conservative. What's John McCain?
Prof. BRAZILE: John McCain is a moderate conservative. I think he's in the right more center because of his tendency to be American to speak up about issues that he cares about. I think going forward John McCain will have to rally conservatives of every stripe to his side to ensure that he has not just enough votes to win the Republican nomination but also to help unify the country long term.
CHIDEYA: Rob…
Mr. TRAYNHAM: Before I start…
CHIDEYA: Yes, go ahead.
Mr. TRAYNHAM: I'm sorry.
CHIDEYA: No. Please, go ahead.
Mr. TRAYNHAM: You know, Farai, it's very interesting. I sat down with Senator McCain for one-on-one about a month ago and I asked him specifically do you consider yourself to be a conservative. And as we all know, Senator McCain has a reputation of being a bit feisty and have a bit of a temper, and he was very polite, although you could tell he was very angry by the question because his answer was, I am a conservative. I'm a Reagan conservative, I have an 85 percent conservative lifetime rating from and he listed all of these organizations on the right, and he also said that I am going to win this nomination because I'm a red-blooded conservative.
But interesting enough, he does not have that perception. He has the perception of being a maverick, he has the perception of being someone that is a little bit right to center on many issues, whether it be fiscal issues or some other things. And interesting enough, the real question is, is whether or not Mayor Giuliani's endorsement and John - or Joe Lieberman's endorsement, the independent senator from Connecticut who was Al Gore's running mate in 2000, will that help him with social conservatives? This is yet another example of how John McCain is - may be a conservative but he's perceived as a moderate. So it's going to be a very interesting to see.
CHIDEYA: Let me ask each of you this. I'm going to start out with you, Robert, since you just gave us a little overview. What distinctions can people make in this race on the Republican side? What issues, if any, separate Huckabee, McCain and Romney, who seem to be vying for the top spot?
Mr. TRAYNHAM: Right now on the Republican side, there is a civil war going on as to who is the right standard bearer, if you will, for Ronald Reagan's legacy. There are some people out there that believe that none of their Republican candidates right now, except for Huckabee, is an ideologue. It's a movement conservative, Farai, that's really going to fight the fight when it comes to the Supreme Court nominations, when it comes to pro-life issues, when it comes to stem-cell issues.
And there's another side that says well, wait a minute here. We're a big 10 party, we should be about broad issues, i.e. a stronger defense and lower taxes. And that's where the John McCain kind of Rudy Giuliani, at least perceptionally fit into and the movement can sort of saying, well, that's the reason why we like Mike Huckabee.
Remember, Mike Huckabee won Iowa by 61 percent when it came to ideologues because they said they, meaning ideologues, said this is a person that we know that's going to fight for the issues that pertain to us. The reason why he lost New Hampshire is because ideologues on the conservative side do not exist in New Hampshire.
So it's going to be very interesting to see, if in fact, who emerges if you will, as the Republican nominee. It appears that it's going to be like 1996 all over again where the social conservatives saying you know what, Bob Dole, we're going to nominate you as the nominee of our party. We're not happy about it and we're going to do everything we can to get you elected but we're not overly happy about it.
CHIDEYA: Donna, I'm going to flip this for you on the Democratic side. You, obviously, spent a lot of time on air at CNN and on the night of the State of the Union. Senator Obama was on CNN and asked about the distinctions between him and other people in the race on the Democratic side and he said, pretty frankly, well, you know, there's a lot of consensus, meaning - you know, honestly, there's not that much difference in what we're pledging to do.
Is it a question of what people are pledging to do, on the Democratic side, or a question of how they're going to go about doing it? How do people make decisions who are voters, based on positions or based on whether or not you think people are going fulfill their promises?
Prof. BRAZILE: Well, there's no question in every presidential election people look at characteristics of the individual candidates as well as the issues that they triumph(ph) on the campaign trail. But I think this year, people are looking beyond just personal qualities and the issues because Democrats are so close together on these issues. They are looking at Washington, who can get the job done. Not only who has the experience, but who could bring about the change. This is a real fierce debate that's taken place in the Democratic Party and it's a good debate, and we need to have it at this hour.
CHIDEYA: Now, as we wrap up, just a quick hit of international news. The secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice is calling for peace in Kenya, asking national leaders to end the political warfare. Yesterday, we had an extensive report on the hundreds of thousands of people displaced by political violence. Is the administration going to step in, you know, and really put some muscle, Donna, behind trying to deal with the issues in Kenya?
Prof. BRAZILE: Well, Condoleezza Rice, this - she is preoccupied by this as well as the Middle East and how the issues that are on our plate. She wants to get it right, she wants to ensure that the opposition has a voice in the government. She knows that this - Kenya, which is a democracy, things unraveling, Kenya's been an ally on the war on terror. So this is on her agenda, on her plate and we should all pay attention to what's going on over there.
CHIDEYA: Ron?
Mr. TRAYNHAM: Well, there's no question about it.
CHIDEYA: I'm sorry, Robert.
(Soundbite of laughter)
Mr. TRAYNHAM: That's okay. There's no question about it that Secretary Rice feels very deeply in her heart of hearts that this is the right thing to do. In other words, to use United States military might and diplomatic might to try to mediate this process.
Donna is absolutely correct. This administration has a full plate right now. When it come to economic issues, we obviously are struggling here at home, obviously over in the Middle East and - you just name it. Whether it's Iraq, Iranor whether it be Palestinian or whether it be Israel. There's a lot going on right now. Unfortunately, Kenya's probably at the low end of the totem pole when it comes to priorities right now.
CHIDEYA: When you look, Robert, at this administration, is there going to be an international legacy? This is the final year of the Bush administration. Condoleezza Rice has, obviously, gotten both applause and boos at different times from different people. Is this going to be something where there is a mark left in the footprint of history by the Bush administration internationally?
Mr. TRAYNHAM: Well, you know, the Bush administration really wants their mark to be on made on two things internationally. Faith-based initiatives globally, as well as obviously here in the Unites States, but also on global AIDS.
The president feels very, very strongly about trying to push back, if you will, the global spread of AIDS. He views this as a national security issue, as a Homeland Security issue and obviously as a health issue. He really wants -I asked him about this actually, a couple of weeks ago, he wants it to be known that the Bush administration tripled AIDS funding globally. Now, that's true. There's no question about it that no other president, including Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton and his father, George H.W. Bush even put global AIDS on the map. But the real question is, is will Iraq and some other things overshadow that? And only time will tell.
CHIDEYA: All right, we're going to have to leave it there. Again, Robert…
Prof. BRAZILE: Thank you.
CHIDEYA: …Donna, thank you.
Mr. TRAYNHAM: Thank you.
CHIDEYA: Donna Brazile is a nationally syndicated columnist who also teaches at Georgetown University, and she joined us from Washington, D.C. Robert Traynham is the Washington, D.C., bureau chief for the Comcast cable network, CN8. He also joined us from Washington.
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